In 1992 historian
Yoshimi
Yoshiaki discovered official documents revealing the Japanese
Imperial Army's inextricable involvement with the comfort women, yet more
than two decades later the Abe government minces words denying compulsion.
In an interview with Shukan Kin'yobi, Yoshimi explains what needs to be
discussed and how to move forward in addressing the issue, critiquing false
reports and misinformation primarily from right wing media that emerged
after the Asahi Shinbun retracted its reports drawing on Yoshida Seiji's
testimony on the comfort women.
Focusing
on short-term economic effects, the mainstream assessments of Abenomics
tend to ignore the necessity that Japan faces to bringing its
infrastructure up to date in the wake of the 3/11 disasters. In
anticipation of the Tokyo Conference on International Study for Disaster
Risk Reduction and Resilience to be held January 14-16,
Andrew
DeWit introduces Japan's remarkable innovations in becoming more
resilient against natural disasters including climate change. He shows how
local communities together with government and researchers are joining
hands to improve urban resilience in ways that could allow Japan to become
a world leader in the era of climate crisis.
Historian
Tomoko
Akami presents an in-depth analysis of Japan's wartime news
media focused on the Domei News Agency which oversaw both the colonies and
the mainland, aimed at encouraging support for the military. Comparing it
to the Allies' Reuters, she shows how Domei disseminated censored and
biased accounts of the war efforts, arguing that the problems of wartime
propaganda and information management were not limited to a specific
political regime.
